Mitt Romney seems to have that same problem Tim Pawlenty had, and that is he is too plaintiff-like with the media, always appearing to seek their approval.
At least 50% of all the attack ads against Romney this campaign will be in comments he’s made, over the years, as a politician, to curry favor with the media, when we all know that a successful businessman and administrator simply does not rise to the top in his profession by striking this kind of pose. It is unnatural and contrived to him just as the cool dude pose of Obama is for him.
You can’t suck-up your way to the top. You couldn’t run Baine Capital, or rescue the Olympics, by sucking up to the media. And in the end, you also know you can’t hold them at bay by sucking up.
In his interview two days ago with CBS, Romney said, “Of course I would have taken the shot. Most any American would.”
True enough, but Jack Welch (former GE CEO) Ray Kroc, (MacDonalds), Donald Trump, Lee Iacocca, (former Chrysler CEO), all keenly aware of their own competition (Sylvania, Burger King, GM/Ford)…would have likely added on to Romney’s statement…”and probably a month sooner. The president is known to dither.”
(Drum roll)
When freebies are offered up to you, you get and grab what you can, and pleasing the press be damned. Obama was six months slow in approving the Surge in Afghanistan. He was slow to approve leading from the rear in Libya. And he was at least a month slow in approving the raid on Osama’s compound in Pahkistahn. And for no good reason.
But lest we forget, he was exactly one year to the day too quick to tout this feat to the world, and provide details the world (we) should never have known. We all know an end zone dance when we see one, and we all know the end zone dance of a runt Rudy when the front line picks him up carries him over the goal line.
And lest we forget, on August 6, 2011, four months after the Osama raid, 30 Americans, mostly SEALS, including members of the by-then world famous SEAL Team 6, were shot down over Sayd Abad in retaliation.
Like any CEO, Romney must be many things, including, as we have urged here before, a man who pauses every once in awhile to settle back, maybe alone, maybe with closest friends, maybe only God, and consider the bigger picture; the freedom vs tyranny picture, free markets vs Marxism, that sort of thing. Every candidate needs that perspective, and quite frankly Obama had a much better vision of his big picture than did M’Cain.
Romney would be a fool to believe that Obama does not have a big picture, and should fire any staffer that says otherwise.
In like manner, the truly effective CEO wants to know, in fact, gobbles up, every delicious little tidbits about his opponent’s frailties he can find, and just wait for the right opportunity to leave a little dig dangling from an otherwise serious comment. His “even Carter would have taken the shot” dig had just that right bite, while a little unfair in that Carter was not on the same category of indecisive dithering as Obama. Still, it showed he has it in him. Romney has promise.
Romney should have had all the stupid things Obama did and didn’t do a year ago firmly in his grasp. He had time to program his thoughts as Obama telegraphed this replay of his dance well in advance.
If Romney didn’t know these things, he needs to start firing people.
Oh, I’ve said that before.
